There is a fine line between keeping on top of your energy levels to live life to the fullest and achieving your weight reduction goals. Weight loss should be a steady and tactical process. You shouldn’t plan to run a PB every training run, in the same way that you shouldn’t plan for every day to be a ‘weight loss’ day. Taking this approach allows you to be flexible in your social setting, still train optimally during key sessions and give yourself an opportunity to maintain lean muscle mass.

Determine the days where you know that maintaining optimal energy levels is vital – busy days at work, key training sessions, weekend run-abouts for kids sport. On these days, fuel to match your requirements to give yourself the best shot at performing these tasks to your very best. Consume some high-quality carbohydrates before your session and a mix of protein and carbohydrate for recovery. Then identify the days where you are having a day off training, are sedentary at work or have the luxury to kick back on a weekend. These are the days where you could plan to achieve a small kilojoule deficit to assist progressive and steady weight loss.

It is easy to fall in to the trap of mis-matching your intake with your energy expenditure. A day off exercise or a sedentary day at work require nutrition to support health, recovery and repair but these are the days people find more opportunity to eat, and ‘over-fuel’ on a day where the tank doesn’t need any extra petrol!

Article by Caitlin Braddock, Accredited Practising Dietitian, Accredited Exercise Physiologist and Accredited Sports Dietitian at Alpha Omega Health.